Side loading refuse body

ABSTRACT

A side loading refuse truck having a reciprocable ram in the bottom of a loading compartment at the front of the truck for pushing rubbish from the loading compartment through an opening therefrom at the bottom of the rear wall of the loading compartment into a larger rear body section. Hydraulic mechanism moves the ram in short strokes through the loading compartment for packing refuse rearwardly into the larger body section. The body has an openable rear wall. The hydraulic mechanism also can be actuated to move the ram rearwardly through the opening and along the bottom of the larger rear body section to the rear thereof for ejecting refuse from the larger body section. There is a vertical guide track up which at least the greater part of an articulated sliding shield extends when the ram is forward of or in the bottom of the loading compartment. The sliding shield is pulled along with the ram when it moves into and through the larger body section in order to prevent refuse from falling down in front of the ram as it moves backwardly. When the ram is moved forwardly to the loading compartment, the sliding shield moves back up the vertical track.

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 488,428 filed July 15,1974, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to side loading refuse trucks and, moreparticularly, to a side loading refuse truck which has a loadingcompartment at one end, usually immediately behind the truck cab, intowhich refuse is dumped from portable containers such as domestic trashcans, and which has mechanism for packing the refuse from the loadingcompartment into a main rear portion of the truck body.

Refuse trucks of this type may be generally divided into two classes.First, there is the type which comprises a reciprocating ram movablethrough the bottom of the loading compartment for packing refuse fromthe loading compartment into the rear storage portion of the body. Whenthe body is fully loaded it is tilted upwardly to dump the refuse out ofthe body. Such trucks are shown, for examples, in U.S. Patents toOchsner No. 2,076,504; to Balbi No. 2,487,411; to Huffines No.2,750,055. In a second type of side loading refuse vehicle, the refuseis emptied into a loading compartment from the side and packed into thebody of the vehicle by a ram movable through an opening defined beneaththe lower end of a moveable upper partition wall. After the body isloaded with refuse, the packing ram is moved with movable partition tothe rear of the vehicle, the two acting as a single ejector plate fordischarging refuse from the body without the requirement that the bodybe tilted for emptying the refuse. Examples of this second type ofvehicle are shown in U.S. Pats. to Brison Patents 3,252,600 andChurchman No. 3,802,585.

In both of these systems it is necessary not only to have power meanssuch as hydraulic cylinders for actuating the packing ram which movesthrough the loading compartment but also, in the first system, to havemechanical means for tilting the body to dump refuse therefrom and, inthe second system, to have either a separate, a second set of hydrauliccylinders or similar means for moving the main ejection plate, or toprovide complex mechanisms for coupling the movement of the ejectionplate and the ram as a unit through the body in order to eject refusetherefrom.

It is therefore the principal object of this invention to provide a sideloading refuse truck having a loading compartment at its forward end anda ram which reciprocates across the bottom of the loading compartment topack refuse loaded therein through an opening into a larger, rearstorage body where it is accumulated and the ram also may bereciprocated through the larger storage body for the ejection of refusetherefrom after the body is filled.

It is yet another object of the instant invention to provide a sideloading refuse truck having a simple low profile ram which functionsboth for packing refuse from a loading compartment into a storage bodyand for ejecting refuse from the storage body when the body is filled.

And yet another object of the instant invention is to provide a sideloading refuse truck having a single, low profile ram which isreciprocated automatically through a loading compartment for packingrefuse therefrom into a storage body at the rear of the truck andthrough the storage body itself for the ejection of refuse and which hasassociated with the ram a traveling articulated shield which closes offthe space in front of the ram both during its packing cycle and duringits ejection cycle in order to prevent refuse from falling downwardlyinto the bottom of either the loading compartment or the storage body infront of the ram.

These and more specific objects and advantages of a side loading refusetruck embodying the invention will become apparent from thesepcification which follows, and from the drawings appended hereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary view in side elevation of a refuse truckembodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary, vertical sectional view taken along the line2--2 of FIG. 1 and shown on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal, vertical sectional view of the truck shown inFIG. 1, particularly illustrating the articulated sliding shield, thepacking cycle of the ram and the guide trades for the shield;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line 4--4 of FIG.3 and shown on a reduced scale;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary detailed view partly in elevation illustratingthe packing cycle of the ram;

FIG. 6 is a view in elevation taken from the position indicated by theline 6--6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view of a sliding cover plate which is connectedto the sliding shield and moved by the ram;

FIG. 8 is a bottom plan view of one element of the articulated slidingshield;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary, enlarged plan view of the hinge elements of thearticulated shield, with parts broken away;

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but illustrating a truck embodying amodification of the invention;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary, vertical sectional view taken along the line11--11 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a simplified, longitudinal, vertical sectional view showingthe articulated shield and its track in the truck of FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a detailed plan view of the ram employed in the truck of FIG.10;

FIG. 14 is a view in elevation of the ram of FIG. 13 taken from theposition indicated by the line 14--14 of FIG. 12; FIG. 15 is a view inend elevation taken from the position indicated by the line 15--15 ofFIG. 14;

FIG. 16 comprises a series of eight reduced scale sketches illustratingthe packing and ejection strokes of the ram of a refuse truck embodyingthe invention; and

FIG. 17 is a schematic hydraulic circuit for the control of the ram inthe strokes illustrated in FIG. 16.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A refuse truck embodying the invention has a body, generally indicatedby the reference number 20, which is mountable on a truck chassis 21located at the rear of a cab fragmentarily indicated by the referencenumber 22. The body 20 comprises a loading compartment 23 which isdefined by a front vertical wall 24, short side walls 25, a partitionwall 26 and a floor 27. The partition wall 26 also serves as a frontwall of a generally rectangular refuse storage body or receiving chambergenerally indicated by the reference number 28. The receiving chamber 28has an openable rear wall or tailgate 29 normally held in closedposition across the rear end of the chamber 28 by suitable latchingmechanism 30. When it is desired to eject refuse from the storagechamber 28, the tail gate 29 is swung upwardly and rearwardly around itstop pivots 31 by a pair of hydraulic cylinders 32 located one on eachside of the body 20.

The floor 27 of the loading compartment 23 lies in the same horizontalplane as a floor 33 of the storage body or chamber 28. A ram, generallyindicated by the reference number 34 and shown in detail in FIGS. 5 and6, has a vertical front face 35 which extends transversely across thetruck, a horizontal flat top 36, and vertical side plates 37 which giveit a box-like configuration with a hollow interior.

The ram 34 is reciprocated either in its packing strokes to and froalong the bottom of the loading compartment 23 or, in a longerexcursion, to the rear of the storage body 28 by a pair of hydrauliccylinders 38, more clearly shown in FIG. 4. Each of the hydrauliccylinders 38 is pivotally connected at its rear end by a clevis 39 on aheavy vertical pin 40 which is mounted in suitable collars 41, one onthe underside of the ram top 36 and the other on a bottom plate 42 ofthe ram 34. The piston ends of the hydraulic cylinders 38 are similarlypivotally connected by ears 43 (FIG. 2) through which extend verticalpins 44 that are in turn carried by brackets 45 fixed to a stationarycross beam of the body 20. The hydraulic cylinders 38 are conventionaltelescoping cylinders, usually of three stages, so that they can beextended from their retracted position shown in solid lines at the rightof FIG. 4, first to their intermediate position, indicated by thereference number 34a in FIG. 4 for actuating the ram 34 to pack refusefrom the loading compartment 23 into the storage body 28 and, secondly,to their fully extended positions, indicated by the reference number 34bto move the ram 34 all the way to the rear of the storage body 28 whenit is desired to eject refuse therefrom.

PACKING CYCLE

During the loading of refuse into the truck, the refuse crew emptiesportable containers such as household trash cans, over the sidewalls 25into the loading compartment 23 from either side of the vehicle. Refusethus emptied into the loading compartment 23 falls downwardly onto thefloor 27 and the hydraulic cyliners 38 are actuaed to extend from theirretracted position shown in actuated 1 and 3 rearwardly to move the ram34 to its intermediate position 34a (FIGS. 3 and 4) to pack the refusethrough an opening generally indicated by the reference number 46 whichis defined by the lower edge of the partition wall 26, the bottom 27 ofthe loading compartment 23 and its side walls 25. A heavy breaker bar 47extends downwardly at the rear of the opening 46 and terminates at alevel slightly above the top of the front face 35 of the ram 34, toprovide a strong edge against which the ram 34 can break objects such assticks, perhaps even 2 × 4 inch lumber, and the like.

The ram 34 is guided during its reciprocation through the bottom of theloading compartment 23 by a pair of horizontal slides 48 one at eachside of the ram 34 which slide in horizontal guides 49. The guides 49are inwardly turned, U-channels which extend all the way from the frontof the body 20 (at the right of FIG. 3) almost to the rear of thestorage body 28, one at each side. An inclined deflector plate 50 at theforward part of the loading compartment 23, just above the level of thetop 36 of the ram 34, deflects refuse rearwardly into the bottom of theloading compartment 23. The space beneath the deflector plate 50 andforwardly and beneath the front wall 24 of the loading compartment 23,is defined at its front side by a front wall 51 of the body 20, thisspace being hollow and serving as a compartment for the ram 34 at itsforemost position, as well as enclosing the hydraulic mechanismgraphically illustrated in FIG. 17. Vertically extending guides 52 foran articulated shield, generally indicated by the reference number 53(FIG. 3) are located between the loading compartment wall 24 and thefront body wall 51. The shield is actuated by the ram 34, during themovement of the ram 34 from its intermediate position 34a to its rearposition 34b (FIG. 3).

In this embodiment of the invention, the articulated shield 53 comprisesa horizonal cover 54 which has an inclined front edge 55 lying as anextension of the deflector plate 50 in its normal or rest positionillustrated in solid lines in FIG. 3. Because of a "lost-motion"connection between the ram 34 and the horizontal cover 54 to be decribedbelow, the cover 54 remains in its rest position while the ram 34 iscycled between its forward position 34 and its intermediate positions34a, i.e., during the packing of refuse from the bottom of the loadingcompartment 23 through the opening 46 into the storage body 28. Becausethe top 36 of the ram 34 is a solid plate, when the ram 34 reciprocatesbetween its forward (solid line) position to its intermediate (dottedline) position, any refuse in the loading compartment 23 which is abovethe level of the top edge of the ram face 35, is supported on the ramtop 36 and does not fall down in front of the ram 34. The deflectorplate 50 overlies the front edge of the ram 34 in this intermediateposition of the ram 34.

Thus the ram 34 can be reciprocated automatically between its forwardand intermediate positions and the operators may continue to dump refuseinto the loading compartment 23 whether the ram 34 is in its forwardposition or in its intermediate position. Upon each reciprocation of theram 34 to its forward position, any refuse in the loading compartment 23drops down to the floor 27 and is thrust through the opening 46 upon thenext rearward movement of the ram 34.

The packing cycle is diagramatically illustrated in sketches (a), (b)and (c) of FIG. 16. In sketch (a) the ram 34 is shown in its frontposition beneath the deflector plate 50 and refuse is shown as havingbeen emptied downwardly into the loading compartment 23. The cylinders38 are then energized to move the ram 34 to its intermediate position asshown in sketch (b). Repeated reciprocating strokes of the ram 34between the positions shown in sketches (a) and (b) gradually transferssuccessive charges of refuse into the storage body 28 until the body issubstantially filled as illustrated in the sketch (c) of FIG. 16. Aswill be described below, the ram 34 may be moved under control of theoperators to its rear position before the body is filled in order tocompact the refuse in the body and achieve a full load.

EJECTION CYCLE

After a sufficient number of packing cycles have been completed to fillthe storage body 28, the truck is driven to a discharging location suchas the city dump or incinerator. The operator disengages the latchingmechanism 30 and actuates the hydraulic controls to power the tail gatecylinders 32 in order to swing the tailgate 29 upwardly and rearwardlyso that refuse can be discharged from the truck. He then manipulates thehydraulic control mechanism (to be later described) to energize the ramcylinders 38 to move the ram 34 to its rear position (left in FIG. 3).As mentioned above, the cover 54 is not moved during packing but whenthe ram 34 moves rearwardly beyond its intermedite position 34a, atransversely extending series of pins 56, which are studded into thetrailing edge of the ram top 36, engages a cross bar 57 located beneaththe front edge 55 of the cover 54. This engagement constitues the end ofthe "lost motion". As the ram 34 continues to move rearwardly from itsintermediate position toward the rear of the storage body 28, it pullsthe horizontal cover 54 along behind it, sliding the cover 54 out frombeneath the lower edge of the deflector plate 50 and across the loadingcompartment 23.

The cover 54 has a pair of edge guides 58 (FIG. 7) which slide inhorizontal guides 59 (FIG. 2) extending along above the ram guides 49.The front ends of the horizontal cover guides 59 are connected by shortarcuate guide sections 60 (FIG. 3) to the verticle shield guides 52 atthe front of the vehicle.

ARTICULATED SHIELD

The articulated shield 53 comprises not only the cover 54 but alsoseveral individual hinged sections 61 (FIGS. 8 and 9) which areconnected to each other and to the cover 54.

The first of the hinged sections 61 is connected to the trailing edge ofthe cover 54 and each of the successive sections 61 is connected to thepreceding section 61 by a hinge tube 62. Each of the hinge tubes 62extends through spaced, alternating ears 63-64 located, respectively, onthe trailing edge of the top 54 or a hinge section 61 and the leadingedge of a following hinge section 61. The ears 63 and 64 areinterdigitated during assembly so as to align with each otherhorizontally and transversely of the body 20 and the tubes 62 are thrustthrough the aligned ears 63 and 64 in the manner of piano hinge pins. Ashort rod 65 is inserted in each open end of each of the tubes 62 andwelded into place in its respective tube end by a ring weld around itsshoulder 66 (FIG. 9). The outer end of each of the rods 64 has a turneddown tenon 67 onto which there is slid an annular bushing 68. Thebushings 68 roll along in the horizontal shield guides 59, the arcuateguide sections 60 and the verticle shield guides 52, as the articulatedshield 53 follows along behind the cover 54 and the ram 34 during themovement of the ram 34 to its rear position for the ejection of refusefrom the storage body 28.

As can best be seen in FIG. 3, the articulated shield 53 passes closelybeneath the lower edge of the partition wall 26 and the deflector plate50, closing off the bottom of the loading compartment 23 and slidingalong with the ram 34 to provide a surface beneath refuse in the storagebody 28 which is located above the level of the front face 35 of the ram34 as the ram 34 moves toward the rear of the body 28.

Referring again to FIG. 16 and the sketches (d), (e), (f) and (g)thereof, the ejection cycle thus far described is illustrated insketches (d) and (e) which show the ram 34 moving from its intermediateposition in sketch (d) to the rear of the storage body 28 in sketch (e).These two sketches illustrate how the ram 34, pulling the articulatedshield 53 along with it, ejects a mass of refuse approximately of theheight of the face 35 of the ram 34 out of the then open rear of thebody 28 as it reaches the rear of the body 28, as shown in sketch (e) ofFIG. 16.

The operator then reverses the hydraulic controls to the ram cylinders38 causing the ram 34 to move forwardly in the body back to itsintermediate position, as shown in the sketch (f) of FIG. 16 so thatrefuse falls down behind the ram 34 as the ram 34 retracts forwardly andthe shield 53 is slid at least partially up the verticle shield guides52.

When the ram 34 reaches the position shown in sketch (f) of FIG. 16, theoperator reverses the hydraulic connections to the ram cylinders 38, andonce again the cylinders 38 extend to move the ram 34 to the back of thebody 28 as shown in the sketch (g) of FIG. 16 to eject another quantityof refuse shown as having fallen down behind the ram 34 in the sketch(f). This reciprocation of the ram 34 through the bottom portion of thestorage body 28 is repeated a sufficient number of times to result inejecting serially all of the "layers" of refuse which has beenaccumulated in the storage body 28. In practice it has been found thatby reason of the entanglements and compaction of the refuse in thestorage body 28 resulting from the repeated packings cycle as shown insketches (a), (b) and (c) of FIG. 16, a very large portion of the refuseis ejected on the first stroke of the ram 34 to the rear of the body 28.Usually all of the refuse is ejected after only two or, at the most,three such strokes.

The "lost-motion" connection between the ram 34 and the horizontal cover54 which has already been mentioned with respect to the fact that thecover 54 remains stationary during the packing cycles of the ram 34,results in the cover 54 and the connected hinge section 61 remainingstationary in their rearmost positions when the ram 34 starts to movetoward the front of the truck. When the ram 34 reaches a positionrelative to the cover 54, as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 5, the pins56 engage a series of stops 69 located on the undersides of the hingeleaves 63 so that further movement of the ram 34 forwardly pushes thecover 54 and the remainder of the articulted shield 53 forwardly alongthe horizontal shield guide 59, around the arcuate guide sections 60 andup the verticle shield guides 52 until the cover 54 is once morerestored to its rest position as shown in solid lines at the right ofFIG. 3.

A modified form of refuse truck embodying the invention is illustratedin FIGS. 10-15 inclusive. In this embodiment of the invention anarticulated shield generally indicated by the reference number 70 ispermanently connected to a sliding ram 71 shown in plan in FIG. 13, infront elevation in FIG. 14 and in end elevation in FIG. 15. The ram 71is substantially identical to the ram 34 of the earlier describedembodiment of the invention with the exception that a series of spacedhinge ears 72 (FIGS. 13 and 15) are mounted at the front or trailingedge of the ram 71 and are connected permanently to interdigitated ears(not shown) on the first of a plurality of elements of the articultedshield 70. The connection between the ears 72 of the ram 71 and theleading element of the shield 70 is made in the same fashion as thatalready described for connecting the cover 54 to the articulated shield53 of the earlier described embodiment.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 10-15, inclusive, there is only one set ofguides including a horizontal portion 73, an arcuate portion 74 and avertical portion 75. The ram 71 has end slides 76 which also slide inthe horizontal portion 73 of the guides.

As in the earlier described embodiment of the invention, the ram 71 ismoved by a pair of telescoping ram cylinders 77 connected to the ram 71and to the body 20 in the same fashion as the cylinders 38 areconnected.

Thus the only difference between the embodiment of the inventionillustrated in FIGS. 10-15 inclusive and the earlier describedembodiment is that in the second embodiment the articulated shield 70reciprocates in guides both during the packing cycle and during theejection cycle.

The sequence of operations constituting an ejection cycle as describedabove may also be utilized prior to the time when the vehicle is drivento the dump or incinerator in order to insure that the storage body 28is filled with refuse, particularly the upper front corner of the body28. It will be observed in FIG. 1, where the tailgate 29 is onlyfragmentarily shown, and more easily in FIGS. 10 and 16, that a tailgate29 for a refuse truck embodying the invention has a segmentallongitudinal cross-section, bulging toward the rear to provide a curvedpathway upwardly from the bottom of the body 28 toward its top. Fromtime to time during the packing of refuse into the body 28, theoperators may energize the hydraulic controls to transverse the ram allthe way to the back of the body 28 with the tailgate 29 still in itsclosed position. The force exerted by the ram 34 along the bottom of thebody 28 pushes refuse up and around the arcuate interior surface of thetailgate 29 tending thus to urge it over the top of previously packedand settled refuse already in the body 28, moving the refuse along thearcuate path diagramatically illustrated in the sketch (h) of FIG. 16.This extension of the ram 34 to the rear of the body 28 or part waytoward the rear of the body 28 may be repeated as often as necessaryduring the loading of the storage body 28 until such time as the body isfilled and compacted by the ram 34 to a degree deemed appropriate by theoperators. It has been found that this utilization of the ram actuationin the "ejection" cycle during packing results in filling the body 28 toa degree greater than could be achieved without the circulatory movementof the refuse resulting from the actuation of the ram 34 toward the rearof the body 28 with the tailgate 29 in its closed position.

HYDRAULIC CONTROLS

The hydraulic circuit schematically illustrated in FIG. 17 is designedto provide for automatic cycling of the respective ram 34 or 71 duringthe packing cycles and manually controlled movements of the respectiveram 34 or 71 during the ejection cycles. The same circuitry is employedin both embodiments of the invention and, therefore, the packing andejecting ram cylinders are indicated by both reference numbers, i.e., 38and 77. The two cylinders 38--38 or 77--77 are connected in parallel andare identically energized. The hydraulic actuating mechanism includes amain automatic cycle valve 78 which has a manual handle by which thevalve 78 is moved into "extend" position. In this position the valve 78connects a source of hydraulic fluid from a pump 79 through the valve 78to an "extend" line 80 and thence to the two cylinders 38--38 or 77--77to extend the cylinders, feeding the ram 34 or 71 rearwardly through theloading compartment to its intermediate position, i.e., with its frontface 35 extending just into the storage body 28. At this point in thecycle a cam 81 (FIG. 17) mounted on the ram, engages the roller of aspring urged valve 82 which closes the "extend" line 80. Pressureimmediately builds up in the line 80 and in the valve 78 and shifts thevalve 78 to "retract" position. This feeds the hydraulic fluid underpressure to a "retract" line 83. The ram 34 or 71 then moves to thefront of the truck until it reaches its foremost position when a secondcam 84 carried by the ram actuates a reversing valve 85. When the valve85 is opened, the pressure drop shifts the valve 78 to either of twopositions depending upon the selected properties of the valve 78. If itis desired to accomplish only a single cycle and to require actuation ofthe valve 78 to accomplish each packing cycle, the the valve 78 is sodesigned that when the valve 85 is opened, the valve 78 returns toneutral. On the other hand, if it is desired that the ram 34 or 71 shallcycle automatically from front to back continuously in the packingcycle, the valve 78 is so designed that when the valve 85 opens,pressure shifts the valve 78 to "extend" position once again to move theram 34 or 71 backwardly through the loading compartment. If the valve 78is designed to be shifted to "extend" when the ram 34 or 71 reaches itsforemost position, the ram cycles automatically back and forth to thebottom of the loading compartment continuously until valve 78 is shiftedby hand to a "neutral" position. Such automatic packing cycles may bedesirable when the truck is utilized uner conditions where operators arecontinuously dumping refuse into the loading compartment.

A manually operable valve 86 is shiftable between two alternatepositions. With the automatic valve 78 in "neutral", the valve 86 ismoved to feed hydraulic fluid to the "extend" line and to the cylinders38 or 77 for extending the cylinders and moving the ram 34 or 71rearwardly. The valve 86 can also be manually shifted to a "retract"position for feeding hydraulic fluid to the retract line 83 for movingthe ram forwardly. The valve 86 is utilized by the operator in order tomove the ram 34 or 71 through the body 28 in order to compact refuse inor to eject refuse from the body 28. The operator first moves the valve86 to an "extend": position, and, when the ram 34 or 71 reaches the rearof the storage body 28, he reverses the valve 86 to move the ramfowardly into the loading compartment. He then reverses the valve 86again to move the ram backwardly, etc., until the refuse is sufficientlycompacted in or is ejected from the body 28.

A third valve 87 is manually actuated by the operator in order to feedfluid to the tailgate cylinders 32 for opening the tailgate prior to thetime when he actuates the ram valve 86 for ejecting refuse in the mannerjust described. The hydraulic system also includes a flow control valve88 which can be adjusted to give a controlled rate of flow to theretract line 83 and to the cylinders 38 or 77 to control the speed ofmovement of the ram forwardly in the body.

Having described my invention, I claim:
 1. In a side loading refusetruck having a loading compartment, a larger refuse receiving bodyadjacent the compartment and rearwardly thereof, a floor for thecompartment and a floor for the receiving body that lie in the samehorizontal plane, an opening between the compartment and the body thatis defined by a partition extending downwardly to a level spaced abovethe floor of said compartment and said body, and a low profile ram forpushing refuse from the bottom of the loading compartment into thereceiving body, the improvement comprising, in combination,a. horizontalguides for said ram extending from forward of said loading compartmentto the rear of said receiving body for guiding said ram along saidfloors from a front position forward of said loading compartment to anintermediate position with its rear face closing said opening and to arear position at the rear of said receiving body for ejecting refusetherefrom, b. hydraulic mechanism for alternatively reciprocating saidram through said compartment and through said receiving body, c. ashield comprising a plurality of articulated members and having a lengthsufficient to extend from the front of said compartment to the front ofsaid ram when said ram is in its rear position, and d. verticallyextending shield guides at the front of said compartment for receivingsaid shield when said ram is at its front position.
 2. A side loadingrefuse truck according to claim 1 in which the shield is pivotallyconnected to the front edge of the ram and reciprocates therewith whensaid ram is reciprocated through the compartment and when said ramreciprocates through the receiving body.
 3. A side loading refuse truckaccording to claim 1 in which there is a lost-motion connection betweenthe ram and the shield and said shield is engaged by said lost-motionconnection and pulled rearwardly by said ram only when said ram movesrearwardly beyond the intermediate position thereof.
 4. A side loadingrefuse truck according to claim 1 in which the compartment, thereceiving body, the hydraulic mechanism, including the ram, the shieldand the guide are a unitary structure and are adapted for mounting assuch on a truck chassis.
 5. A side loading refuse truck body havinga. aloading compartment, b. a larger refuse receiving chamber adjacent thecompartment and rearwardly thereof, c. a floor for the compartment and afloor for the chamber that lie in the same horizontal plane, d. apartition between said compartment and said chamber defining an openingbetween the compartment and the chamber, e. a low profile ram movablealong said floors for pushing refuse from the bottom of the loadingcompartment through such opening and into said receiving chamber, f.horizontal guides for said ram extending from forward of said loadingcompartment to the rear of said chamber for guiding said ram along saidfloor from a front position forward of said loading compartment to anintermediate position with its rear face closing such opening and to arear position at the rear of said chamber for ejecting refuse therefrom,g. a shield comprising a plurality of articulated members and having alength sufficient to extend from the front of said compartment to thefront of said ram when said ram is in its rear position, h. meansconnecting said ram to said shield for movement therewith when said ramis moved to its rear position, i. vertically extending shield guides atthe front of said compartment for receiving said shield when said ram isat its front position, and j. hydraulic cylinder means connected betweenthe front end of said body and said ram for reciprocating said ramthrough the bottom of said loading compartment and to and from the rearof said receiving chamber.
 6. A refuse truck according to claim 5 andhorizontal shield guides extending rearwardly from the loadingcompartment to the rear of the travel of the shield in the receivingchamber.
 7. A refuse truck according to claim 5 and arcuate guidesections connecting the lower end of the horizontal shield guides to thevertically extending shield guides.
 8. A refuse truck according to claim5 in which the articulated shield is pivotally connected to the frontupper edge of the ram and movable with said ram.
 9. A refuse truckaccording to claim 5 in which the articulated shield comprises ahorizontal sliding cover and there is a lost-motion connection betweenthe ram and said cover, whereby said cover and said shield are engagedby said ram for rearward movement therewith only when said ram is movedrearwardly beyond the intermediate position thereof.
 10. A refuseloading and transporting truck having a loading compartment at one endthereof, a larger refuse storage body adjacent such loading compartment,a floor of said loading compartment and a floor of said body lying insubstantially the same plane, a partition extending downwardly to alevel spaced above said floors and defining an opening from said loadingcompartment into said body and a ram having a closed rear face and aclosed top that is mounted for reciprocatory movement across the bottomof said loading compartment for pushing refuse from said loadingcompartment through said opening, that is characterized bya. horizontalguides for said ram extending from forward of said loading compartmentto the rear of said storage body for guiding said ram along said floorsfrom a front position with the rear face of said ram closing saidopening and to a rear position at the rear of said storage body forejecting refuse therefrom, b. hydraulic mechanism for alternativelyreciprocating said ram through said storage compartment and into, out ofand through said storage body, c. a multi-part horizontal shieldextending the width of said floors and including said top on said ramand having a total length sufficient to extend from the front of saidcompartment to the rear face of said ram when said ram is in its rearposition to assist the ram in the unloading of refuse from said storagebody, d. means coupling said shield parts to said ram for movement withsaid ram when said ram moves at least rearwardly of said partition, ande. shield guides extending from forward of said loading compartment tothe rear of said storage body for storing said shield parts other thanthe top of said ram when said ram is at its front position and forguiding said other shield parts as said ram is moved between itsposition closing said opening in said partition and its rear position.